You have many coverage options with your auto policy. Each coverage is priced separately and each are optional and must be requested by you.

 

• Liability
  This coverage applies to injuries and damages that you or family members listed on the policy cause to someone else. You and family members listed on the policy are also covered when driving someone else’s car with their permission.

  It’s very important to have enough liability insurance, because if you are involved in a serious accident, you may be sued for a large sum of money. Definitely consider buying more than the state-required minimum to protect assets such as your home and savings.

 

• Medical Payments
  This coverage pays for the treatment of injuries to the driver and passengers of the policyholder’s car. At its broadest, PIP can cover medical payments, lost wages and the cost of replacing services normally performed by someone injured in an auto accident. It may also cover funeral costs.

 

• Collision
  This coverage pays for damage to your car resulting from a collision with another car, object or as a result of flipping over. It also covers damage caused by potholes. Collision coverage is generally sold with a deductible of $250 to $2,5000—the higher your deductible, the lower your premium. Even if you are at fault for the accident, your collision coverage will reimburse you for the costs of repairing your car, minus the deductible. If you’re not at fault, your insurance company may try to recover the amount they paid you from the other driver’s insurance company. If they are successful, you’ll also be reimbursed for the deductible.

 

• Comprehensive
  This coverage reimburses you for loss due to theft or damage caused by something other than a collision with another car or object, such as fire, falling objects, missiles, explosion, earthquake, windstorm, hail, flood, vandalism, riot, or contact with animals such as birds or deer.

  Comprehensive insurance is usually sold with a $100 to $500 deductible, though you may want to opt for a higher deductible as a way of lowering your premium.

  Comprehensive insurance will also reimburse you if your windshield is cracked or shattered. Some companies offer glass coverage without a deductible for windshield repairs but not replacements.

  States do not require that you purchase collision or comprehensive coverage, but if you have a car loan, your lender may insist you carry it until your loan is paid off.

 

• Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
  This coverage will reimburse you, a member of your family, or a designated driver if one of you is hit by an uninsured or hit-and-run driver.

  Underinsured motorist coverage comes into play when an at-fault driver has insufficient insurance to pay for your total loss. This coverage will also protect you if you are hit as a pedestrian.

 

• Other optional coverages can be purchased for an additional premium.  They include but are not limited to: towing and labor, rental reimbursement, additional installed equipment coverage, and GAP coverage.

Call or text me anytime about your auto insurance.  318-336-5203

Pattie Jones

(Don’t worry, we won’t tell!)

Insurance can seem intimidating when looking at it from the outside, and a lot of that has to do with the amount of jargon in the industry. Instead of leaving you on your own to guess what something means, we have gathered* a list of words to help you when looking at small business insurance policies.

* The following definitions have been written by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners andInsurance Services Office Inc. 

Actual Cash Value – In most cases it is the cost to repair or replace the damaged property, minus depreciation.

Additional Insured – A person or organization not automatically included as an insured under an insurance policy who is included or added as an insured under the policy at the request of the named insured.

Admitted/ Non-Admitted Insurance Company – An admitted company is an insurance company licensed or authorized to sell insurance in a given state.  Non-admitted insurance companies do not have the protection afforded by the state’s guaranty association.

Assessed Value – Estimated value for real or personal property established by a taxing entity.

Blanket – A single limit of insurance that applies over more than one location or more than one category of property coverage, or both.

Business Interruption Insurance – AKA Business Income Coverage.  Covers loss of income suffered by a business when damage to its premises by a covered cause of loss causes a slowdown or suspension of its operations.

Business Personal Property – Typically, property you own that is used in your business.

Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) – BOP stands for Business Owner’s Policy and is a policy providing both property and liability coverage for eligible small businesses.

Certificate of Insurance – Proof of your insurance coverage.

Commercial Package Policy – Provides a broad package of property and liability coverages for businesses other than those provided insurance through a Business Owner’s policy.

Deductible – An amount the insurer will deduct from the loss before paying up to your policy limits.

Depreciation – The decrease in the value of property over a period of time, usually as result of age or wear and tear from use.

Directors and Officers Liability Insurance – A type of liability insurance covering directors and officers for claims made against them while serving on a board of directors and/or as an officer.

Errors and Omissions Liability – Protects the insured against liability for committing an error or omission (negligence or mistake) in performance of professional duties.

Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance Endorsement – Non-owned Auto Liability provides coverage for any auto that is not owned, borrowed or hired by the insured.  Hired Auto Liability provides coverage for autos leased, hired or borrowed by the insured. This endorsement is typically not available to insureds who have a policy covering other commercial automobile exposures.

Limit of Insurance – The most that will be paid by the insurer in the event of a covered loss under an insurance policy.

Premium – The amount your business pays for insurance coverage.

Professional Liability Insurance – Another name for errors and omissions insurance.

Replacement Value – The cost to replace the damaged property with materials of like kind and quality, without any deduction for depreciation.

Rider – This is an additional piece of coverage added onto a larger insurance policy. It may also be called an endorsement.

Umbrella Insurance – A policy generally written over your primary liability policy which can serve the purpose of providing coverage when the limits under your primary policy are exhausted by the payment of claims or providing coverage where the primary policy leaves off or doesn’t cover.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance – Insurance that covers an employer’s liability for injuries, disability or death to persons in their employment, without regard to fault, as prescribed by state or federal workers’ compensation laws and other statutes.

Insurance doesn’t have to be complicated! If you are interested in requesting a quote, please visit our website. We are always here to help!

If I can be of any assistance, don’t hesitate to call or text. 318-414-0003

Brain Chandler

Understanding your homeowners policy could be overwhelming.  But it doesn’t have to be.  Let me explain.

There are 6 basic policy types

1. HO-3, Homeowner
2. H0-4, Renters
3. H0-5, Homeowner (aka HO-3 + 15)
4. HO-6, Condominium
5. DP1 or DWG1 or Dwelling 1
6. DP3 or DWG3 or Dwelling 3

For the purposes of this series we are focusing on the HO-3 since it is the most common.

Click here to start a quote.  You may call or text me at 318-336-5203.

HOMEOWNER OVERVIEW

The homeowner’s policy is a package policy in which it will include 6 basic parts. We will talk generally about the what is included in each of these parts.

Parts:

• Coverage A : Dwelling
• Coverage B: Other Structures
• Coverage C: Personal Property
• Coverage D: Loss of Use
• Coverage E: Liability
• Coverage F: Medical Payments

Click here to start a quote.  You may call or text me at 318-336-5203

Lets dig a little deeper

Coverage A: Dwelling

• This is coverage on your home itself. This is based on the Replacement Cost of that home. Replacement Cost is the cost to rebuild the home from the ground up.
• We use this value because is a loss occurs, we need to have a predetermined idea of the cost to repair or rebuild and not necessarily the cost to re-buy since market and construction costs can vary so much.
• Coverage is subject to a deductible. Most of our policies have a flat dollar deductible such as $1,000 that applies to all property related losses
• Please note: many of our competitors will have a separate percentage deductible that is much higher that applies to wind or hail. A 2% deductible on wind on a home with a replacement cost of $250,000 equates to $5,000 deductible on any wind related claims, such as roof damage. You do not have to settle for this. There are better options out there that we can offer for probably no additional premium.
• The Dwelling limit is used to calculate the other coverage parts other than Liability and Medical Payments.

Coverage B: Other Structures

• This is coverage for detached structures such as sheds, pools, fences, ect.
• The coverage amount is automatically calculated at 10% of your dwelling limit. So if you have $250,000 on your home, then you will have $25,000 on your other structures automatically.
• This limit can be adjusted up or down with most carriers.
• It is subject to a deductible.

 

Click here to start a quote.  You may call or text me at 318-336-5203

Coverage C: Personal Property

• This is coverage for your belongings. Think moveable items such as furniture, clothing, food, electronics, computers, jewelry, ect.
• The automatic coverage limit is 50% of your dwelling coverage. This amount can be changed.
• Typically, this coverage is based on Actual Cash Value. We sometimes say that the “evaluation basis” is Actual Cash Value. You need to watch out for this one. If your Personal Property is insured at Actual Cash Value (ACV) then any claims for personal property will be depreciate for age and wear and tear. Potentially this could significantly reduce a claim payment. Typically you do not have to settle for this option. Usually we can remedy this prior to a claim easily and inexpensively.
• All policies have internal lower limits for items such as: jewelry, computers, electronics, guns, collectibles, ect.

Coverage D: Loss of Use

• This is coverage for additional living expense from being displaced from your home due to a covered loss.
• The coverage limit is 20%, it can be increase, and carries no deductible.

Coverage E: Liability

• This is coverage for bodily injury or property damage that you are legally liable for.
• Coverage limits usually start at $100,000 and you can typically select up to $500,000.
• There is no deductible.
• You can purchase higher liability limits by purchasing an Umbrella Policy. The cost is usually minimal for these policies and will provide higher limits to other polices such as your auto liability policy.

 

Click here to start a quote.  You may call or text me at 318-336-5203

Coverage F: Medical Payments

• Coverage for medical bills for people injured at your location regardless of legal liability.
• This is a “no-fault” coverage.
• Typical limits are $1.000 to $10,000
• There is no deductible.

Standard Exclusion

• Flood
  • Typically purchased as a stand alone policy.
  • Policy limits typically cap out at $250,000 on your home and $100,000 on your personal property.
  • In some areas Excess Flood policies can be purchased to provide higher limits.
  • Most flood damage claims are a result of excessive rain.
• Earth Quake
  • Can usually be added by endorsement

Common Insurance Terms

• Replacement Cost
  • The cost to rebuild or replace with like and kind at today’s cost. This does not apply depreciation to the evaluation.
• Actual Cash Value
  • Replacement cost minus depreciation for wear and tear. This is less desirable than replacement cost.
• Open Perils
  • This refers to the list of perils or types of claims a policy will insure against. Open Perils or All Risk means it is covered unless there is a specific exclusion that limits coverage. Typical exclusions are meant to limit coverage for maintenance, wear and tear, and intentional acts.
• Named Perils
  • This also refers to the perils of a policy. In this case there is a specific list of perils that are insured against.

Be aware, there are Special Limits on Home Insurance Commonly Limited Items

Here is a checklist of items that typically have special limits or exclusions associated with them.

• • • Money
    • Securities
    • Trailers
    • Watercraft
    • Jewelry
    • Collections and collectibles
    • Antiques
    • Furs
    • Wine
    • Fine Arts
    • Silverware
    • Sporting Equipment
    • Bicycles
    • Firearms
    • Landscaping
    • Swimming pools
    • Electronic Data Restoration
    • Business Property

While your home insurance does not have to be overly complicated, you still need a trusted adviser to help you make decisions.  That’s where I come it.  You can Click here to start a quote, you may also call or text me at 318-336-5203.

Pattie Jones